MONDAY BRINGS OPPORTUNTIES TO SAVE ANIMALS AND CONTEMPLATE AMERICA -- & FOOTBALL & A DANGED NEAT QUILT!

EDITION OF MONDAY, SEPT. 19, 2022 [PetPowellPress] Please mark this on your calendars (anybody still mark calendars?): Autumn arrives at 8:03 p.m. Texas time on Thursday, Sept. 22, and immediately the temps will drop into the upper 60s, leaves that survived summer will turn red and gold and fully-lit Christmas trees will emerge in area department stores. Oh, wait. Those trees (they're prettier than my photography) are on display at the Dillards in Northeast Mall. Yep, trees are already up in some stores — and the Texas Rangers haven’t even played a 2022 World Series game yet. Hang on. If Christmas waits for the Rangers to get into a World Series, it could be a while before the reindeer take flight. 
OK, seasonal wisecracks aside: My funspouse Martha and I have separate offices at opposite ends of our estate. Keeps me from bothering her with pointless conversation (We’ve worked together previously in office situations — she regards me as a worse nuisance than a fidgety cat tap-dancing on her keyboard. But, never mind my manners, read on…) 
You see that dog with the great face? On Sunday I walked into Martha’s office and saw that pup on her big computer screen. Martha helps prep the weekly newsletter/appeal for adoptions for Paws In The City and she had St. Gatsby on the screen. He’s an older dog — 9 years and 2 months, a Pittie/Staffie/Terrier type. No idea of his history, but this bio begins, “Gatsby’s got a personality that can light up this whole town!” Read more about him later in this edition.
IS THIS THE BEST CAT QUILT
EVER RAFFLED IN TEXAS?
How about the “front” of that quilt? How about the “back” of that quilt?
Sydney Busch, the longtime spokesbeacon for the Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake, wrote, “The ladies at the Gun Barrel Quilters Guild have done it again!  OUTDONE themselves, that is...Rhis fabulous cat quilt will make a wonderful present for someone - OR for yourself!  It's looks to be queen bed size -- shown are front and back…"
As you know, the Friends of the Animals at Cedar Creek Lake operate the world’s most successful spay/neuter clinic at Gun Barrel City, Texas. Hence, they are supported by what may be the World’s Best Quilters Guild in Gun at Gun Barrel City, Texas.
You can see the quilt in person at the Friends Clinic in Gun Barrel City. 
Raffle tickets are $5 each or 5 for 20 bucks, according to Sydney’s note. You can get them Tuesdays from 6 am. to “4 p.m.-ish” and on the Second Saturday of each month from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The drawing? Noon on Tuesday, Nov. 15. Got questions: Call 903-451-4701.
MEANWHILE IN MESQUITE
MORE ADORABLE ADOPTABLES…
We start with two dogs with traditional names and their stories provided courtesy of Mesquite Animal Services volunteer dog biographer Judi Brown. Yep, traditional names: Bonnie and Clyde — names once worn by notorious Depression Era bank-robbers, now belonging to a couple of darling dogs.

Judi writes, “Bonnie [#51054855] will keep you on your toes and keep you smiling. She’s a joy to be around. She is 4-month—old, 14-pound cattle dog/terrier mix that arrived at the Mesquite Animal Shelter with her brother Clyde on 9/6. “She’s everything you would expect a puppy to be. She’s frisky, lively, playful, fun loving, friendly, joyful, and affectionate. … She didn’t sit for treats, but she danced for them! She followed me around to the point that I was going in circles. She definitely wants human attention. She wanted to walk on a leash but she got all tangled up. That’s something you could teach her.”
Brother Clyde [#51054853] is also "everything you’d ever want in a young puppy!,” Judi writes. He, too, is 4 months old and he weighs 16 pound. They came in as strays on September 6. Clyde is “wiggly, frisky, playful, joyful, friendly, curious and everything else that goes along with being a young puppy. He definitely wants to please. He kept sitting for a treat to the point it was difficult to take a picture of him standing. He’s obviously highly motivated by treats and at such a young age already knows the sit command! …He would like to go outside in the yard to play but spend most of time in the house with his new family.  Remember, use their ID numbers when you call the shelter at 972-216-6283 or email [email protected]

One more 4-month-old puppy? Judi introduces us to Smokey [#51088040] who she describes as being “full of joy and it’s contagious!” He’s a 16-pound fellow who came in as a stray on the 10th — isn’t “fixed.” Judi says, “He is extremely curious. He explored every nook and cranny of the laundry room. He found toys and entertained himself with them. He particularly likes squeaky toys. He even found some towels in the laundry basket to drag around.” [LARRY ASIDE: Drags around the laundry? He’s already trained for life in our house — but we’re already full: Somebody else go get that baby!] Judi says, “He doesn’t sit for treats because he’s too energetic to stay in one place for very long. However he does dance for them. … He’s just learning about the leash. He doesn’t fight it; he just doesn’t completely understand it. … When I sat down he came to me. I even got a few kisses.”

As you probably know, Dear Readers, there are many, many animals waiting in the Mesquite shelter. And the shelter lists them at this website HERE. When you visit that site you can see several other dogs being monitored by the dog biographers Judi Brown and Debra Chisholm. There’s the momma Chorizo who is the mother of Windy (also waiting), the youngster Olivia, a senior girl Bella…And you can see a lot of cats, too, and as long as the three opening adoptables were 4-months old, we’ll follow the theme and re-run this photo of Samson, a kitten [#50237138], currently waiting in the shelter’s Conference Room.
MEANWHILE, BACK TO PAWS’
OLDER GUY ST. GATSBY
We mentioned this pup St. Gatsby in the opening because his photo caught my attention. I’ve never met him, but I live with older dogs and he’s an older dog. I go along with Tom T. Hall’s country song, Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine. Never had any Watermelon Wine, but two out of three ain’t bad. And I love me some older dogs...daily. Good for the soul.
This guy Gatsby is 9 years and 2 months old. He’s large fellow, neutered and a Staffie/Terrier type who can be adopted for $100 loving dollars at Paws In The City. [PERSONAL DISCLOSURE: I’ve been writing about Paws In The City for decades — through the early years, then through my funspouse Martha’s tenure as president and through the wonderful era of her successor, the late/great/big-hearted  Mark Verma, bless his critter-loving heart. I don’t know if Mark had a hand in rescuing St. Gatsby, but someone can sure adopt this dog and dedicate the loving action to the memory of Mark. He walked the walk when it came to the mission of saving ‘em all.]
St. Gatsby’s bio says he’s a “fun-loving dog who absolutely adores playing games with humans and he’s a big fan of positive touch and all the snacks.”
Go to pawsinthecity.org to see how to adopt St. Gatsby. [When you adopt him, that’ll open a rescue spot for the next dog that doesn’t have a home or has been facing an awful situation.]
CONTEMPLATIONS
NO PARTICULAR DIRECTION
Many people will be (or were) up early on Monday morning watching the funeral of Queen Elizabeth. As this is being written, it’s been a pretty dignified event. I’m old enough to be geezerish and wish that America valued dignity and grace as much as we value freedom of speech and the ability to express ourselves. Don’t squelch those freedoms, but treasure them. It’ would be a quieter/stronger nation, maybe -- until we needed to get loud. …
I know someone who likes the Cincinnati Bengals because of their helmets, but at her heart my funspouse Martha was a total Dallas Cowboys fan right on up to the departure of Tom Landry. She’s not alone in that, I’m pretty sure. Me? I’m a North Dallas Bulls fan (North Dallas Forty by Pete Gent). Now and then I lean toward the Miami Bucks of Semi-Tough (Book by the great Dan Jenkins). …

Over the weekend I got an email with this subject line: “Cozy fall fires … we (heart) that feeling.” Ironic considering the number of not-so-cozy summer fires in the Lone Star State and elsewhere all summer. Pretty sure a backyard fire in autumn would be creepy as a crop circle in your St. Augustine.
—- Offer corrective behavior or lame retorts by clicking on ‘comment’ below or emailing [email protected] and put LARRY YOU’RE AN IDIOT in the subject line so I’ll feel properly humbled. —-